"I think teams have strengthened their defence and defenders are more organised now. They are quick, so it's not easy for strikers to score," said McCarthy, who won the Goal of the Season prize in 2011/12 with a bicycle kick he slotted for Orlando Pirates against Maritzburg United at Orlando Stadium.

"It's quick of us to say strikers aren't scoring but we forget that there's [Itumeleng] Khune, you know your Ronwen Williams, your Sage Stephens. Like these goalkeepers have done amazingly in between the sticks.

"Also defenders, they have upped their game so strikers have to work hard. So it's not so easy in scoring goals as it used to be in my time. I think that is also a factor. And you have to also commend teams for beefing up their defence to be more secure and make it difficult for strikers.

"But in general strikers of today are afraid of the goals. They are afraid of the goals; they don't want to score goals I think. And now it's becoming more difficult," concluded the 40-year-old.

The last PSL player to bag 20 goals in a season was veteran forward Siyabonga Nomvethe for Moroka Swallows in 2011/12.

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